Bernice Baeza, founder and director of Lark Theater, dies at 69

Bernice Baeza of Larkspur, one of the founding board members of the Lark Theater and the nonprofit's executive director, died Saturday of lung cancer. She was 69.

Along with Heidi Hillenbrand and a group of volunteers, Ms. Baeza spearheaded the refurbishing of the 1936 art deco theater at 549 Magnolia Ave. in Larkspur and the establishment of a nonprofit community film center there.

"She at the very beginning rented the theater from the owners and wanted to start a film center and ultimately wanted to form an LLC," said Tina McArthur, chairwoman of the theater's board. "That's when she got a lot of us involved, and we did it.

"Her vision and her tenacity and her hard work and her dedication and her knowledge of so many films" made the effort successful, McArthur added. "Her programming was so extraordinary. She will be sorely missed."

Ms. Baeza also was involved in a plan to restore the Novato Theater, which is still underway.

Ms. Baeza was born in 1943 and grew up in Nyack, N.Y. and New York City, her daughter, Alana Capozzi of San Anselmo, said. After meeting her first husband, Dominick Capozzi, Ms. Baeza moved to California in the early 1960s and earned an English degree from California State University at Long Beach.

When her husband died in the 1970s, she moved to Northern California to be near her sister, Judith Hendricks. Ms. Baeza first became involved in theater through her sister and brother-in-law, her daughter said.

She later married William Baeza, a Marin chiropractor, and helped run his business for years before launching the effort to revitalize the Lark.

"Film has always been her passion," Capozzi said. "She really just sort of made her life in the last eight years all about the Lark Theater and building community.

"Personality-wise my mom was what people would probably call a typical New Yorker," she added. "She was very bright, very strong willed ... and very caring and loving."

In a statement, the Lark Theater said Ms. Baeza's "vision was that the Lark should be a 'community cultural center' providing entertainment for all ages.

"Bernice's tenacity for saving the Lark from demolition to what it is today was a work of genius, and her hand-picked Board of Directors and incredibly hard-working and dedicated staff will keep the Lark open and running as a dynamic entertainment center 365 days a year," the statement said.

In an email to residents, Larkspur Mayor Len Rifkind described Ms. Baeza as "the driving force behind the revival of the Lark Theater and a powerhouse for good in downtown Larkspur."

In addition to her husband, Ms. Baeza is survived by her daughters, Alana Capozzi of San Anselmo and Jenna Capozzi-Rutgersson of La Crescenta; her brother and sister, Richard Dickstein and Judith Hendricks; and three grandchildren. Ms. Baeza also used the name Bernice Capozzi-Baeza.

The family is planning a public memorial service, probably for next month, and will announce details soon.